Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading firm QCP Capital and Further Ventures on Wednesday announced in Dubai a partnership to expand into the Middle Eastern markets by offering new digital-asset financial and derivatives product offerings.

QCP said that it plans to open an office in Abu Dhabi, while Further Ventures will use its broker-dealer license and custodial platforms to facilitate sales of new products.

"Abu Dhabi is unique because it has one of the most progressive regulatory frameworks in the region to support the growth of institutional digital assets," Melvin Deng, CEO of QCP, said in an interview conducted over Telegram. "This fits very well with how we envision regulation supporting the ecosystem as it develops and evolves."

Abu Dhabi is quickly becoming an established institutional crypto hub. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate's financial center, recently reported that it was the fastest-growing financial hub in the region, with assets under management growing by 35%.

An October 2023 report by Chainalysis found that the majority of digital assets transactions in the UAE were comprised of large institutional investments.

In December, Coinbase announced that its new offering, which lets institutional investors trade blockchain-based versions of traditional financial products, had received in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulated Activity (FSRA) of ADGM.